Police began investigating in April. Police said surveillance video showed two men using a card that had been taken from an unlocked car. They said one of the men was arrested, but officers had trouble finding the other man, identified as Dowdell.

Police said they found Dowdell’s rap videos online and a detective contacted him, posing as a record producer interested in his music. Police said Dowdell agreed to meet Friday at his “office,” which was a local shopping center.